The mixed fruit leather was prepared using the Maskan et al. (2002) method with little modification. The fruits (Banana, Pine- apple and Apple) were selected, sorted, washed, weighed and manually peeled with a stainless steel knife. They were then cut and sliced into pieces and dipped in lemon juice for 5–10 min. The pieces were transferred to a 60–70% sugar solution, boiled for
10–15 min and allowed to soak for up to 18 h. Up to half the water in the fruit is removed. The fruit pieces are then pulped, spread on aluminum foil and dried in an oven at a temperature, between 60 and 80 1C for 10 h. The fruit leather is cut into small sizes, sprinkled with sugar and packed in a cool and dry place, away from sunlight, until the leather pieces were required for analysis (Fig. 1).
The three fruits were combined in different proportions for the leather production and coded as follows: